The Circle of Life

Every year, we have robins nest under our deck. It's been really cool being able to watch the process of nesting, seeing each little clutch of eggs, the hatching, and finally the fledging. This year, we also had a wren's nest - a messy-looking thing that was pretty impressive, with it's tunnels and such.

Now, a couple of weeks ago, we had a garden mishap - a wren somehow managed to get it's head stuck in one of our bird feeders and broke it's neck. So glad I didn't see that.

There was some concern that the wren that died was the wren that built the nest under the deck. And so one afternoon, Abigail took it upon herself to clean up, ripping the nest down. Her reasoning was as follows: the nest was the dead wren's (an assumption Mommy & Daddy to be mistaken) and she figured since it was abandoned it didn't matter anymore and she didn't want it to be sitting there all summer. Did I mention that she didn't think there were any eggs in it? Unfortunately, she was wrong - two beautiful, pale pink mottled eggs were smashed on the ground.When she realized that there were eggs in there and that they were little tiny bird lives in there, she was destroyed. I was upset, Anna was sobbing, Noah was accusing, but Abi was distraught. She felt so terrible, what could I say? Well, like any good homeschooling mother, I suggested redeeming the situation by doing a little nature study.

And once again, the robins are back - this time, with a little bit of Thor adorning their nest. Somehow, I don't think he appreciates the honor.

This year, we have 4 robins to look forward to welcoming to our yard. And they are protected by the sternest warnings that only Mommy & Daddy do any nest cleaning and removal. Just in case.